Whale, Dolphin & Penguin Island Cruise

We meet our guests at 8am and after a short briefing before we head out into PE's beautiful Algoa Bay on our twin-engine catamaran. The whale season begins in June when we see humpback whales moving along the coast as they head up the East coast of Africa towards their breeding grounds. Humpback whales can be seen in Algoa Bay from June to early December. They make their return journey from October, females with calves in tow. Southern right whales can be seen close in shore from July to September.

Indo-pacific bottlenose dolphins are the most frequently observed dolphins in the bay and can be spotted all year round, in groups from 10-400. These playful dolphins are mostly found in shallow waters either near the beaches or around St Croix Island, and tend to come right up to the boat and ride along in the bow waves. Common dolphins are also a spectacular sight as they are seen in groups of 1000-2000, swimming along at great speeds. These dolphins are often spotted all year round further out to sea, especially on the bird island tours, as they follow large shoals of baitfish which move past the bay. We also get humpback dolphins in Algoa Bay, which usually occur in much smaller groups, anywhere between 1 and 20, and are most commonly seen during the summer months.

St. Croix Island is home to 12,000 endangered African penguins, the largest breeding colony found in Africa (though we have lost 70% in 10 years). It is here where you will get a close-up encounter with these comical birds. The African penguin’s breeding season reaches its peak between March and May, when you may be able to see the chicks from the boat. As well as African penguins, both St. Croix and Brenton Island are inhabited by the endangered African black oystercatcher, white-breasted cormorants and Cape cormorants. The St. Croix Island group, along with the Bird Island group, became part of the Addo Elephant National Park, allowing rangers to patrol the islands in aid of conservation efforts to protect the African penguin population. As they are Marine Protected Are-as, please note that you are not allowed to actually go on to the islands.

Next to the above-mentioned animals you have the opportunity to see of spotting white-breasted cormorants, Cape cormorants, bryde’s whales, minke whales, Cape fur seals, various species of sharks, Cape gannets and various species of pelagic birds including terns, petrels, skuas, shearwa-ters and albatrosses.